Hanging Stone

Natural Rock Feature

Hanging Stone (Natural Rock Feature) on The Modern Antiquarian, the UK & Ireland's most popular megalithic community website. 8 images, 1 fieldnote, 1 piece of folklore, 1 weblink, plus information on many more ancient sites nearby and across the UK & Ireland.

Images (click to view fullsize)

Fieldnotes

The hanging stones are relatively easy to find and get to. A car park is situated near the path and then the path is easy to follow until you have to head right and follow the wall in a southerly direction. Once following the wall the ground is boggy and uneven so take care.

The stones have great views to the west. The stones have carvings on 'Hanging stone' and 'PR88ALSO94'.

The spot is a fairly isolated and lonely spot. Prepare not to encounter anyone else all day. The trip is worth it for the decent views yet I am unsure of the speciality of these stones. It didnt feel like it was a special site nor were they attractive.

Worth visiting if you are in the area but I wont be heading back. Maybe the weather was to blame though. As you can see from the pics it was misty, wet and I was pelted by a strong easterly wind

Folklore

Perhaps we could not do better than take as our guide that eminent local antiquarian Dorning Rasbotham.

"Sept. 12th, 1787, I went this day to visit a remarkable stone, and took with me the landlord of the alehouse at Moorgate (Horwich) as my guide. In this excursion, after having the Winter Lads some time on our left, we proceeded over Winter Hill in which situation was about sout-west or north by south. The stone lies upon the declivity of a hill in the township of Turton. It goes by the name of the Hanging, or Giant's Stone.

The tradition of the common people is, that it was thrown by a certain giant upon a certain occasion (the nature of which they do not specify) from Winter Hill on the opposite range to this point, and they whimsically fancy that certain little hollows in the stone are the impressions made by the giant's hands at the time he threw it; but I own I could not find out the resemblance which was noticed to me. It appears, however, to have long excited attention, for that it is a heavy, gray, moor stone; a rude mark of a cross, that about 7 inches by 6 inches, appears at a very distant time to have been cut upon it. It is elevated upon another piece of rock, and its greatest length is 14 feet, its depth in the thickest part 5 feet, and its greatest breadth upon the top, which is nearly flat, is about 9 feet. The height of the highest part of it from the ground is about 5 feet 8 inches. A thorough going antiquary would call this a Druidical remain.

Quoted in 'Horwich: its history, legends and church' by Thomas Hampson (1883).

'Certain little hollows' might sound like cup-marks. But rock art with folklore? Let's not get overexcited.